Advancements in metal-organic frameworks based photocatalysts for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen generation

• This review explores the fundamentals of MOFs and their recent advancements in photocatalytic hydrogen production. • Discusses the synthesis strategies, structural advantages, and integration of MOFs with other semiconductors and co-catalysts to enhance photocatalytic performance. • Emphasis is placed on bandgap engineering, heterojunction formation, surface functionalization, and MOF-derived semiconductor composites. • The synergistic effects of structural tuning, charge separation enhancement, and light-harvesting extension are highlighted. • The review concludes with a perspective on current challenges and future directions in designing MOF-based materials for H 2 generation. The growing energy demand and the environmental alarms associated with the fossil fuel combustion have intensified the search for need of clean, and sustainable energy alternatives. Hydrogen with high energy density and zero carbon emission, presents itself as a probable solution. Among the various hydrogen production techniques, the photocatalytic water splitting has shown the most potential due to its ability to utilize the solar energy. However, the traditional semiconductor-based photocatalysts often face the various limitations such as low efficiency and high cost. In this regard, the Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as the promising candidates for the photocatalytic applications owing to their tuneable traits and high surface area. The review study summarises the recent breakthroughs in the MOF-based photocatalysts for the hydrogen (H 2 ) production and it showed that the high H 2 evolution rates of more than 22 mmolg -1 h -1 has been achieved using the MOF. Moreover, the quantum yield of more than 10% have also been achieved using the MOF based catalysts. Based on these recent developments, this review explores the nature of MOFs and their advancements in the photocatalytic hydrogen production. It discusses the synthesis strategies, structural advantages, and integration of MOFs into the heterojunctions for photocatalysis. Emphasis is also placed on the bandgap engineering, heterojunction formation, the surface functionalization, and the MOF-derived semiconductor composites. The synergistic effects of structural tuning, charge separation enhancement, and the light-harvesting extension are highlighted. The review summarises the current challenges and future directions for the high-performance MOF-based catalysts for solar-driven hydrogen generation.